The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program by the inventor, Robert Edward Lee. The inventor's intention was to develop compact growing Rhododendron hybrid plants with re-blooming characteristics. This new variety, hereinafter referred to as ‘HOMLEA’, was discovered as a seedling, resulting from the crossing of Rhododendron ‘Watchet’, unpatented with the pollen parent Rhododendron ‘Conleb’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,581. The cross was performed during 1996, and the new variety selected during Fall of 2002 in Independence, La.
After identifying the new variety as a potentially interesting selection, the inventor first organized propagation of ‘HOMLEA’ by vegetative cuttings during the Fall of 2002 at a commercial nursery in Independence, La. The inventor continued confidential, controlled testing and propagation, assessing stability of the unique characteristics of this variety. Multiple generations have been reproduced and have shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.